Title 7, Title 7

Notwithstanding sections 3913 and 3919‑A and except as provided in Title 17, section 1021, when a person brings a pet to an animal shelter because the owner of that pet is incarcerated or hospitalized or under the process described in Title 14, section 6025‑A, that person shall p…

When an animal shelter holds an animal at the request or with the approval of the person who seized the animal pending an investigation or disposition by the court of an alleged violation of chapter 739 or Title 17, chapter 42, the shelter is entitled to receive from the person w…

The department may temporarily impound animals within an enclosure other than a licensed animal shelter, and such an enclosure constitutes a temporary animal shelter. When animals are held at a temporary animal shelter for more than 21 days, the shelter must comply with the stand…

1. Small animals. When an animal shelter accepts a small animal under section 3919 and the animal does not have identification, the animal shelter shall hold that small animal for not less than 48 hours. After the expiration of the 48-hour period, the animal shelter may treat the…

1. Appointment and certification. Except as provided in subsection 5, the commissioner, in consultation with the Animal Welfare Advisory Council, as established by Title 5, section 12004‑I, subsection 2‑C and as described in section 3906‑C, shall appoint one or more persons in ea…

A dog may not be kept within the limits of the State, unless the dog has been licensed by its owner or keeper in accordance with the laws of this State. [PL 1997, c. 690, §13 (AMD).] Any law enforcement agency within the State, counties or municipalities owning dogs for law enfor…

The commissioner shall adopt rules to establish methods of identifying wolf hybrids through tattooing, the placement of a microchip under the animal's skin or any other method determined by the commissioner as adequately providing a permanent means of identification on the body o…

1. Prohibition. Except as provided in subsection 2, a person may not keep a wolf hybrid in the State unless that person holds a valid permit to possess wildlife in captivity issued by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife under Title 12, section 12152. 2. Exception. A p…

1. License; January 1st. Each owner or keeper of a dog at the age of 6 months or more, on or before January lst of each year, shall obtain a license: A. From the clerk of the municipality where the dog is kept; [PL 2001, c. 422, §6 (AMD).] B. From the dog recorder in the unorgani…

Except as provided in subsection 3 and section 3923‑B, a dog owner or keeper obtaining a license from a municipal clerk, dog licensing agent or dog recorder shall pay the license and recording fees established in this section. For purposes of this section, "dog licensing agent" m…

1. Tags. The municipal clerk or dog licensing agent shall provide with each new license issued under section 3923‑A a tag indicating the year the license is issued and bearing other information prescribed by the department. The owner or keeper shall make sure that the tag is secu…

An animal shelter may issue a temporary dog license when transferring ownership vested in the animal shelter under section 3913, subsection 4 to a person buying or otherwise accepting ownership. The department shall provide animal shelters with temporary license forms. The animal…

Municipal clerks or dog recorders shall receive the license fees in accordance with section 3923‑A, pay them to the department and make a monthly report to the department on a department-approved form of all licenses issued and fees received.

The commissioner may authorize an animal shelter licensed in accordance with chapter 723 and a veterinarian licensed in accordance with Title 32, chapter 71‑A to issue dog licenses under section 3923‑A. The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted p…

1. Procedure developed; municipality participation. The commissioner may develop and implement a procedure by which a dog owner can electronically apply for and be issued a dog license using a publicly accessible site on the Internet. A municipality may choose to participate in t…

1. Civil violation. Any person who violates any section of this chapter commits a civil violation for which a forfeiture not to exceed $100 may be adjudged. 2. Unlawful use of collar or tag. A person who removes a tag or who places a tag on a dog for which the license was not iss…

The department shall develop and implement a dog licensing database in coordination with any electronic dog licensing project implemented pursuant to section 3923-G. The database must track all dog licensing throughout the State and allow municipalities and animal control officer…

1. License necessary. A person maintaining a breeding kennel, as defined in section 3907, must obtain a license from the department and is subject to rules adopted by the department. The license expires 12 months after the date of issuance. An applicant for a breeding kennel lice…

1. License necessary. A person maintaining a boarding kennel, as defined in section 3907, shall obtain a license from the department and is subject to rules adopted by the department. The license expires December 31st annually or in a manner consistent with the license provisions…

1. License necessary. A person operating an animal shelter as defined in section 3907 shall obtain a license from the department and is subject to rules adopted by the department. The license expires December 31st annually or in a manner consistent with the license provisions of …

1. License necessary. A person maintaining a kennel, as defined in section 3907, subsection 17, shall annually obtain a kennel license from the department, and that person is subject to rules adopted by the department. Individuals or entities obtaining facility licenses under sec…

1. License necessary. A person maintaining a pet shop, as defined in section 3907, shall obtain a license from the department and is subject to rules adopted by the department. The license expires December 31st annually or in a manner consistent with the license provisions of the…

The department may not issue a license to maintain a facility required to be licensed under this chapter to an individual who, within the 10 years previous to the application for the license, has been convicted of murder, a Class A or Class B offense, a violation under Title 17‑A…

A person maintaining a facility required to be licensed under this chapter shall pay a late fee equal to 50% of the required license fee if that person fails to renew a license within 30 days of that license's expiration date. The late fee must be deposited in the Animal Welfare …

1. Inspection and quarantine. The commissioner, a state humane agent, a veterinarian employed by the State or a licensed veterinarian at the direction of the commissioner may, at any reasonable time, enter a facility required to be licensed under this chapter and make examination…

If, upon inspection under section 3936, the commissioner or the commissioner's designee finds a facility licensed under this chapter to be in violation of this chapter or rules adopted under this chapter, the commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall issue a written notic…

The department may, in accordance with Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 5, refuse to issue, refuse to renew, suspend or revoke the license of a facility required to be licensed under this chapter if a person maintaining the facility makes a material and deliberate misstatement in…

Upon written complaint made to the commissioner by any person alleging violation of this chapter, or any of the rules of the chapter by any licensee, the commissioner shall cause an investigation to be made upon matters related in the complaint.

A person maintaining a facility required to be licensed under this chapter without having obtained a license, or after a license has been revoked or suspended, commits a civil violation for which a forfeiture of not less than $50 nor more than $200 a day may be adjudged.

A person or an animal shelter, boarding kennel, breeding kennel or grandfathered pet shop that sells, gives away or otherwise transfers ownership of a dog or cat before it has reached its 56th day of life commits a civil violation for which a fine of not less than $50 nor more th…

Nothing in this chapter may be construed to exempt licensed facilities from the license requirements of chapter 721.

1. Spay; neuter. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 2 and 3, an animal shelter may not place with a new owner a dog or cat that has not been spayed or neutered unless an appointment has been made with a licensed veterinarian to spay or neuter the animal within 30 days of…

1. Noncompliance by new owner. If a person receiving a dog or cat from an animal shelter fails to comply with section 3939‑A, that person forfeits the sterilization deposit and commits a civil violation for which a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $200 per animal may be ad…

Municipal clerks, annually, at least 20 days before January 1st, shall post copies of chapter 721 and this chapter in the municipal offices.

Municipal clerks shall issue dog licenses in accordance with chapter 721, receive the license fees and pay to the department $10 for dogs capable of producing young and $3 from each license fee received for dogs incapable of producing young. The clerks shall keep a record of all …

Except for the $1 recording fee pursuant to section 3942 retained by the municipal clerk, all fees and court fines retained by municipalities must be kept in a separate account and must be used for the salaries and costs of animal control, enforcement of licensing laws, care of s…

Dog recorders appointed by the commissioner in unorganized territories shall issue dog licenses, receive the license fees and pay them to the department. The recorders shall keep the clerk's copy of all licenses issued by them and make reports to the department on a form approved…

Each municipality shall appoint one or more animal control officers whose duties are enforcement of sections 3911, 3912, 3916, 3921, 3924, 3948, 3950, 3950‑A, 3952‑A, 4041 and 4042 and Title 17, section 1023, responding to reports of animals suspected of having rabies in accordan…

1. Control. Municipalities shall control dogs running at large. 2. Medical attention. Law enforcement officers and animal control officers shall take a stray animal to its owner, if known, or, if the owner is unknown, shall ensure that any injured companion animal that is at larg…

Municipal clerks, annually, on or before April 1st, shall certify to the commissioner the name and location of the animal shelter with which the municipality has entered into a contract to accept stray animals or have an arrangement for an animal shelter that will accept stray an…

Each municipality is empowered to adopt or retain more stringent ordinances, laws or regulations dealing with the subject matter of this chapter, including the establishment of fees necessary and appropriate to finance the cost of animal control services, except that municipaliti…

1. Violation. A mayor, municipal officer, clerk, town or city manager, administrative assistant to the mayor, town or city councilor, dog recorder of unorganized territories, constable, police officer, sheriff or animal control officer commits a civil violation if that person ref…

1. Written authorization. A humane agent, animal control officer or animal shelter may authorize in writing the euthanasia of severely sick or severely injured livestock under the following conditions: A. The clerk or animal control officer of the municipality in which the livest…

A municipality, veterinarian, humane agent, animal control officer or animal shelter is not civilly liable to any party for authorization made in accordance with section 3950‑B nor is any person performing euthanasia under that authorization civilly liable.

Any person may lawfully kill a dog if necessary to protect that person, another person or a domesticated animal during the course of a sudden, unprovoked assault.

A person who owns or keeps a dog determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be a dangerous dog or a nuisance dog commits a civil violation for which the court shall adjudge a fine of not less than $250 and not more than $5,000, plus costs, none of which may be suspended. …